See you on the other side

Its a profoundly interesting feeling, having all your appliances unplugged. I’m writing this on a notepad – normally I write on my PC. I just unplugged the boxy conglomeration 2 minutes ago.

My friend took the DS. (I’ve just finished Apollo Justice.) And while my Xbox is still around, I lent the powerbrick to him (and his broken Xbox powerbrick) leaving me with a powerless Xbox – I heard its the sure-fire way to avoid 3rl!

The TV, huge looming presence that it is, is utterly useless without the video inputs from the PC or the Xbox. And the only other great appliance in the room is my THX Certified Logitech Z-5500’s, which will undoubtedly gather some dust while I leave its magnetic powers untouched.

A bunch of portable electronic devices are hastily strewn around the room. A digital camera, a cellphone, my media player (the recently updated with more awesome 80gb Zune), batteries, memory card readers and adapters, and a whole host of cables and chargers. Plus a spare cellphone SIM card.

Cables you say? What could possibly need this many?

Lets see:

Cellphone charger

Cellphone data cable

Cellphone headset

Zune audio/video cable (for SDTV viewing)

Zune (premium) headphones

Zune sync cable (for charging and stuff)

Around the room its eerily quiet, except for the while of the air-conditioner. I feel a slight urge to check on my favorite websites, but I can’t. I won’t, yet.

It seems a past blog comment is poised to help me in my travels. As someone had suggested I use Opera USB on my travels, (or net cafe use) I’ve set one up and copied all the necessary files I need to hit the ground running with a perfectly identical (cookies, favorites, passwords) version of Opera conveniently saved in my cellphone’s memory card. That ought to make things much simpler once I have had the privilege to access the internet where I am going.

All thats left to do is put my stuff in the bags and in the suitcases. No doubt when I’m done, I’ll find a way to sneak this post into the blog, my last one before I depart.

One issue I’ll have to address though is the convenience of going through airport xrays and security with all my stuff. Consider this as me planning out lout, or more specifically, planning in writing.

Most of the cables will have to end up in my suitcase, because I won’t need them in flight…

I’ll have to bring most of the important cables in my handcarry, since I’d need them in case the check-in baggage finds itself somewhere else. Obviously identification papers and valuables will need to be in my person. But to speed up the xray processing, I’ll need a small bag to put all my metallic effects like keys, eyeglasses, bracelets, wallet, and my gadgets.

My San Francisco City Walks guide and other reading materials will have to spend their time in the hand carry bag, along with some of the necessities.

At this point, I don’t see a problem with these preparations – but I usually find out the opposite anyways. Either way, this will have to do. See you on the other side.